Tying Up Loose Ends

On this final day of the Octave of Christmas and of the year 2018, if we can make the time, despite anticipation and preparation for New Year's Eve and "First Night" festivities, it would be helpful to our spiritual journey, to stop, look back over the year, see what loose ends persist, give thanks for them and for all that we actually did accomplish, and more importantly, acknowledge with gratitude what God did for us.

Tying up the loose ends could also mean setting goals (resolutions) for the coming year.  We sometimes shrug these off as exercises in futility, for so often in the past we have found ourselves abandoning them just a few days or weeks after initiating them.  We might add some weight to this year's resolutions by asking Jesus to give his HIS power and grace to stick to them, remembering what St. Paul said to the Philippians, "I can do all things in him who strengthens me." (Phil 4:13).
God's blessing on all for the New Year.
Bro. Rene.

The Holy Famly: A Model For Us

The Church honors the family Jesus, Mary and Joseph by recalling the incident when Jesus was separated from  them and was then found after three days amidst the rabbis and teachers in the Temple. There is a calmness in the story, despite the anxiety of "not knowing" and the tension in the exchange of words between Mary and Jesus: "Son, why have you done this to us?  Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (cf. Lk 2: 49). Even not understanding what he meant, Mary and Joseph did not get angry, but  took him back to Nazareth, with Mary, no doubt, pondering this answer for the rest of her life.  There "he was obedient to them and advanced in wisdom age and favor before God and man."
 As with all families, there were times when sensitivities and priorities had to be worked out. This is only one chapter in the 30 year period when Jesus lived at home. We can only imagine the daily routine of finding work in distant villages, bearing with the July heat, and parting with Joseph as he took leave of his life on earth.  Yes, the comforts and stresses faced by any family. We look to the Holy Family for faith, trust, and love to help us live a holy family life.
Note:  The Holy Family is the patron of the Province of the United States, so we Marists also need and profit by the example of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Bro. Rene. 

Simeon's Prophecy

When Mary and Joseph fulfilled their duty to the Law by taking the 40 day old Jesus to the Temple to be consecrated to the Lord, and themselves purified,  they met a rather astonishing elderly man who had been waiting for "the salvation of Israel",  and who gave not only a blessing to the child, but a prophecy to Mary that her soul would be pierced (that she would suffer greatly) "that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." (Lk 2:35). Indeed, she did suffer seven major sorrows  and still works alongside Jesus that we might come to see him as he is and love him with our whole being. When she gave her YES to the angel Gabriel, she opened her heart to the Holy Spirit and to whatever followed, even to the pain of watching her Son die on the cross, as gradually the significance of that YES and her calling unfolded.
If we can also, alongside Mary, give our YES to the Holy Spirit, we will find God's plan of joy and suffering unfold before us, for the prophecy of Simeon is meant for all of us who give their YES to God. I pray we can do it!
Bro. Rene   

The Slaughter of Innocents

The appalling slaughter of the innocent baby boys of Bethlehem by by King Herod's soldiers sends chills up our spines as we hear the story again today. (Mt 2:13-18)  Yet reflecting on it, we come to realize that children throughout the centuries have been abused, neglected, left to starve to death, tortured, gas chambered, or hacked to death, as we saw in the major genocides of the 20th century. Children of great beauty and potential as adults are the victims of rampant evil, for they have no way to defend themselves and too often, no one to defend them. Does it always have to be this way? How can I prevent some of this in "my world"?  I can begin with myself and my tendencies with tongue and temper to "slaughter", in a sense, my neighbor, the homeless, those who do not agree with me, or those whom I label as "weak" or  just "different."  Unfortunately, we all have this tendency to be slaughters, but fortunately, healers and helpers as well.  May the Holy Innocents help us to choose the latter.
Bro. Rene  

The Beloved Disciple

Two days ago, swaddling clothes warming a babe laying on hay in a manger; yesterday the blood of the martyr, Stephen; today, burial cloths in an empty tomb; tomorrow, blood again, and the wailing of mothers over the slaughter of their innocent children.  Is this the Joy to the World, Peace on earth to people of good will we have been singing about?  It is; it is the full picture of the Nativity:  God made human, entering our imperfect world in order to redeem it and make it holy.  John, the disciple whom Jesus loved ((Jn 20 1a) was not present at Bethlehem but was there at the tomb and bears witness to what he saw.  The man he loved and who loved him, was not just a man, but God.  John saw, believed (cf. Jn 20::8) and told us about it.  It is now our role to see, believe and proclaim that Jesus Christ is God.
Bro. Rene

St. Stephen: A Light In The Darkness

There is nothing comparable to the soft light of a candle glowing in a dark room or chapel. It is so soothing, with its glow, neither too bright nor too dim.  It adds a golden touch to the darkness it chases away.
When we look at the martyrdom of the deacon Stephen. the first to fulfill the prediction of Jesus that his followers would be let to courts, governors and kings, being hated because of the allegiance to his name, we see the glow of the candle in the darkness of this world. Yes, so soon after celebrating the night when the heavens were aglow with the heavenly host, darkness creeps in, but one that cannot overshadow the light.  "A light shines in the darkness,/ a darkness that did not overcome it." (Jn 1:5). There's no cause for shock or dismay that the day after our Christmas festivities, we celebrate the death of the first martyr, who shows us in depth how we find light:  by witnessing, by commitment to the adult, mature, full-grown Christ.
May Stephen help each one of us be a candle to illumine and soothe our darkened world.
Bro. Rene

Midnight Mass

We know not what time Jesus was born, and whatever time of day it was, it seems it was not in December, but traditions have grown up around Decembrr 25th and in the Northern Hemisphere, it's a dark "winter cold night".  The full moon of a few days ago is on its wane, but still lighting up the sky as did the host of heavenly beings, according to St. Luke.  The tradition of a Mass at Midnight adds to the reverence, solemnity and drama of the birth.  The world is can be country quiet at that time, the perfect moment for the Son of God to make his entry via a stable into our world.  The animals, the shepherds, the wonder of it all.  Midnight is the perfect backdrop and stirs the heart, melting away anxiety and replacing it with peace..the peace of the Son of God's Presence....the peace that only he can give.  If you were at a crowded, noisy 4 pm Vigil  Mass just be aware that some of us were in the mysterious middle night where Silent Night is a perfect description of the birth of the Babe in Bethlehem.  May the beauty, quiet, simplicity, earthiness, power and magic of this night bring heavenly peace to you.
Bro .Rene